


Makorra Highschool AU

by izloveshorses



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-08-14 06:39:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8002234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izloveshorses/pseuds/izloveshorses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako was a focused kid. He had to be, since the only way he had a shot at college was getting a scholarship for his Martial Arts skills. That meant no dating, no goofing off, no getting into trouble. </p>
<p>But his entire plan went downhill when he met Korra. </p>
<p>The only thing Mako knew about that girl who sat in the back of the class was that this was her first year at Republic City Highschool, she was obsessed with that notebook, and seemed to have a grudge against the world. He never saw her talk to anyone, but he heard her yelling at anyone who ever messed with her. </p>
<p>He was intrigued from the moment he first layed eyes on her. When Korra finally let him into her life, there was no turning back. </p>
<p>Sometimes, plans change for the better. But how could Mako possibly choose between friendship and a chance to live the life he always wanted?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first published fic, go easy on me XD let me know what you think!

Chapter 1

Mako first saw her in history class. 

She sat in the back, next to no one, always focused on her little leather notebook she carried around. She never raised her hand or participated, never spoke up. She just scribbled on those pages she never shared. 

Mako payed attention to her for the rest of the week. He started noticing her in the hallways, rushing to class, eyes downcast. She appeared to be shy, but she was surprisingly aggressive towards anyone who dared to pick on her, or so his friends say. That confused Mako. The personality traits didn't really match or fit together in his mind, so he grew fascinated by the girl as the first quarter went on.

Mr. Tenzin, their history teacher, assigned Korra and Mako as partners for a project, the perfect opportunity to finally talk to the girl. 

"What are you working on?"

The question startled her, as if she were surprised that he was even looking at the "loser" she was. Her eyes met his for a second then darted down immediately to her notebook.

Because of her lack of response, he leaned over to find out for himself. Korra nervously closed the book and pulled it away before he could look. Then, she spoke, the first time he'd ever heard her voice, "Whatever you want to say about me, you can tell it to my face."

Mako's brows knit. "What?"

"I know that you and your friends make fun of me behind my back. I really don't mind, but it'd be nice to hear someone man up and tell me what they really think."

"I-" never expected this. Those challenging words to come out of that timid girl's mouth. "I don't want to make fun of you."

"What do you want then?"

"I was just curious why you're always writing in that notebook."

Her blue eyes looked skeptical. Opening her mouth to reply, Mr. Tenzin cleared his throat loudly. 

"Ah, Mako," the old man interrupted, "I'm glad you're so eager to get started on your project, but it would be greatly appreciated if you learn the subject matter of your creation first."

Mako turned back around in his desk. This time, Korra was the one to lean forward. She whispered, "I'll tell you, if you promise not to talk about it."

"Deal," he whispered back. 

She raised her eyebrows, still a little unsure. "Meet me at my place after school," she said, and slid a piece of paper with her address and number scribbled on it.

Mako smiled, and that was the end of the conversation. 

***

When he rung the doorbell of the simple, two-floor house out in the countryside, Mako was greeted by a giant polar bear. 

The beast knocked him flat on his back and vigorously licked his face like he was a popsicle.

"Naga! Down!" Korra's command echoed through the hallway. Obediently, the bear trotted over to its master, tail wagging.

Mako wiped the slobber off his face and stood up. "Big dog."

"Sorry, she usually doesn't like strangers. But she seems to like you, though."

They walked up the stairs to her bedroom door, covered in random posters and "keep out" signs. One paper caught Mako's eye; a silhouette of someone in a fighting stance, with the words "Congratulations! For the most Outstanding Student of the Year" in bold letters. 

"You take martial arts?" Mako asked. 

She walked into her bedroom as she answered. "Yeah."

"Me too!"

Korra eyed him skeptically. 

"No, really!" He followed her and skimmed the room, noticing all her belts stacked in one area, black on top. "I'm only on brown belt, but I'm hoping to have a better year." He held up his fists as if he were going to throw a punch. 

There was almost a trace of a smile on Korra's lips. 

After a minute of awkward silence, Mako scratched his neck and cleared his throat. "Well, um . . ."

"The book."

"Yeah, that."

"Well," she took a deep breath and sat on her bed, Mako plopping down across from her in a desk chair. "I'm . . . I'm writing a story."

"A story?" Mako leaned forward. 

"Yes, I just said that." 

"Why so secretive about it?"

"Because, people don't need to know about it, it's none of their business."

"Then why'd you tell me?" That made her falter a bit. She shrugged, and he decided to move on. "Anyway, what's your story about?"

She sighed and crossed her legs. "It's historical fiction that's taken a ton of research," Korra tiptoed around the answer, pulled her notebook of of her school bag, and passed it to him. 

It took her a while to explain her plot line, but Mako was entertained. He flipped through the many sketches of her characters. 

"Korra, this sounds really interesting," he handed her back her book.

"You think so?"

"Yes! I would so read this. And I don't even like reading." 

Once again, she almost smiled. "It'll probably be a while before it's finished. I think it's going to have to be a trilogy, and I'm pretty much finished with the first one."

"Wait you've started it?" Mako scooted the chair forward. "Read it to me."

"What?"

"Read it to me."

Shouldn't we work on the project?"

"It's due in a month. And besides, I don't have anywhere to be in a while, you said your parents don't get home until late, so we have time."

She gave him her skeptical look for the third time that day. Surprisingly, though, she opened her notebook to a page filled with words.

He crossed his legs and eagerly waited for her to begin, pretending to eat a bowl of popcorn. 

There. Her smile finally emerged. And it was beautiful.

Korra began reading. "Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. But then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked . . ."

***

"How?"

"What?" Korra hadn't finished her full story yet, just took a sip of her water. 

"How can you create a story like this in your head, let alone keep it to yourself?" Mako was amazed at her elaborate ability to shape this genius idea into . . . Something more. "It's incredible."

"You really think so?" There was a genuine look of surprise on her face, with layers of self-doubt buried underneath. Unbelievably, she doubted herself. Mako was determined to break through to her confidence. 

He locked eyes with her. "Yes," he said. "I really do." He hoped the serious tone of his voice delivered the message. That he was sincere. 

The small smile that spread across her face told Mako that it did. "Thank you. For . . . For not-- for understanding."

He cocked his head curiously, but didn't press on. "Thank you for letting me know about it."

Korra nodded in response.

Silence fell, blanketing them. Then Korra spoke up, "What time do your parents want you home?"

"Um . . ." They're dead, Mako wanted to say. But he didn't think either of them were ready to get super personal yet. "My brother is out," he replied lamely. "When do your parents get home?"

Korra raised an eyebrow, but let the subject drop. She looked over at her digital clock on her nightstand. 7:46. "Not for a while."

"What do they do for a living?"

"My dad works for the White Lotus department," she said while standing up to shuffle some papers on her desk. "And my mom is a nurse."

"Ah. Late night workers."

"Yeah."

More silence. Why was it so hard to talk?

Mako started thinking about going home. Home. Huh, who knew the creaky attic in the gym a mile from the school could be called "home" to anyone. It was really sweet of that old janitor to let him and Bolin crash there for the past few years, but who wants to sleep on a gross wrestling mat every night? Besides, the only way the manager was even letting them live there was if they worked. Mako helped clean the equipment most afternoons, organize documents at the front office with the receptionist, and even assisted in teaching the martial arts classes when the coach wasn't up for it. On weekends, he'd earn a little extra cash helping out at the police department. 

Bolin mostly stuck with selling hand wraps, ankle braces, and punching bags at the shop. He loved to socialize with all the customers. "I'm a people person," he'd said. "You're a numbers person." Sure, he helped monitor the team practices every now and then, but he cared more about a good laugh with his buddies or bringing another girl to show off his "moves." But he was only interested in the activity because it kept him busy and fit. He didn't take it as seriously as Mako. 

Every year, scouts would attend each martial arts academy during tournament season. They'd decide who the most talented athlete in the district was, and offer a scholarship to Republic City University. A scholarship! Mako knew that a scholarship equals money, which equals a college education, which equals a job and a house and a life. He was determined to be chosen this year. To do so, he needed to be completely focused, with no "fun" distractions. 

But this was different. Korra. Ever since he first laid eyes on her, he was intrigued. She wasn't necessarily a distraction, his curiosity just kept his mind busy while he trained in gym class. He wanted to know her, to understand her. And she'd finally given him a peak inside her mind. 

Mako thought a break of this quiet was long overdue. "Maybe I should . . ."

"Leave."

"Yeah. Get going--"

"I'll walk you out--"

"--Start my chores--"

"--Yeah."

They were speaking over each other with awkward nodding and feet shuffling. Then Korra opened the door and Mako followed her down the stairs. 

He saw her take a deep breath when he walked out the front door. Was it relief? Or disappointment, that she actually didn't want him to leave?

"Well," Mako started. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Sure." She nodded. 

"Maybe you could read to me some more."

"Sure." She repeated with no sign of discomfort. "Maybe we'll actually get some of our project done next time."

Mako grinned. "Yeah. That's kind of important." He cleared his throat, one foot on the porch and the other on the sidewalk, still not quite sure what was left unsaid. "Maybe we could spar sometime?"

Her eyebrows raised, she nodded. There. Now the conversation felt completed. He nodded back and started walking down the street, towards "home."


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Mako would never have guessed what would see. 

The Martial Arts Academy--the one that he lived above--was being inspected by the health department, so he couldn't train. The grouchy old manager Toza told him he should take his morning practice at the school today. "And don't forget to be home by five," he added. "You need to scrub all the weights tonight."

It didn't really matter to Mako, as long as he could practice in peace somewhere for an hour before school began. It was his daily routine: wake up, work out, go to school, train some more at lunch, and for another hour before he went home.

He walked sleepily into the school gym, his bag of books and school clothes slung over his shoulder, stifling a yawn. He'd already planned what he needed to work on. Specific maneuvers and attacks, dodging techniques, and a million other ways to beat up a punching bag . . .

The punching bag wasn't the only figure on the gym floor, though. A girl, wearing grey shorts and a blue tank top, arm muscles fully exposed, was fighting an imaginary opponent on the mat. Expertly fighting. In fact, if there was an actual person there, he'd be a bloody mess, desperately screaming, "uncle! Uncle!"

She was good. Incredible. Mako wondered if she'd pummel him if he interrupted her. So instead, he studied for a minute, watching her high ponytail fly around on her head. 

The thud of his bag hitting the glossy floor startled her. When she whipped around towards the source of the noise, Mako's heart actually sprinted in fear. Then he realized who those steely blue eyes belonged to. 

Korra lowered her fists but her deer-in-headlights expression didn't go away. Like she was exposed. Caught committing a crime.

"I didn't know-- I didn't hear you come in," she stuttered.

"No, I'm sorry." He replied quickly. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's ok, I was done anyway." She stepped off the mat and gulped some of her water, then wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel. How long had she been here?

He cleared his throat. "I didn't know you came here to practice."

"Neither did I. About you, I mean. I didn't know you came here too." She was still stuttering.

"I don't often. Usually I train at MAA down the street."

"Oh." She took another sip of water. "I go to Southern Raiders' on Harmony Street."

"Ah."

He wished he'd been more prepared for this encounter. Preferably wearing more than that ruddy old white undershirt and shorts. It was like he had a sign plastered to his forehead that said Look at me! I'm dirt poor! I can't even afford new underwear, much less a normal lifestyle! Want to be friends?

Korra spoke up. "Do you live close to MAA? Is that why you can train every morning?"

"Uh . . . I guess you could say that." He ran his fingers through his bed-head-ish hair. "More like in it."

"What?"

Here we go. "I live in their attic."

Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, then relaxed in understanding. "Oh."

He shrugged. "It's fine, really. I just gotta help them clean or organize papers and stuff after school."

"Can I ask why?" She asked as she raised the water bottle to her lips. Korra was curious this time. Not vise versa. This girl that fights fantastically and writes awesome stories for fun wanted to know about him, his past. Maybe forming some kind of friendship wasn't a lost cause after all. If only it were an easier conversation. 

He studied the fraying edges of the mat when he spoke. "My parents, they . . . They died when I was eight. Killed in front of me. My brother was six."

He risked a glance at Korra. Her mouth was agape, her thirst forgotten. "Mako . . . I know this is pretty lame, and it doesn't really help anything, but . . . I'm so sorry."

He shook his head, saying, "It's--well, it's not fine, but . . . Thank you." A humorless laugh came out of his mouth. "It just kinda sucks, you know? To have such a screwed up childhood."

She was nodding vacantly, then she quickly stopped and shook her head. "I don't know, really, I can't even imagine." 

"Yeah." 

They held each other's gaze for a minute. Mako was wondering how someone like her, who could probably kill someone with the moves he saw, or even her angry stare alone, could be this . . . Caring? Soft? Supportive?

"Do you want to talk about it?" Her question was almost a whisper. 

His eyes flitted to the clock on the wall. Only a few minutes until classes started. "Maybe later," he almost-whispered back. "Thanks though."

She smiled in reply. "I've got to shower. Don't want to scare away the school with my stench." She hurriedly scooped up her bag and walked towards the girl's locker room. Before she reached the door, she looked over her shoulder and said, "I'll be here to listen when you want to talk. About it. When you want to."

He smiled and nodded at her sentence fragments. Then he thought that he'd better change into his school clothes, since there wasn't enough time to work out anyway. 

Friendly, he decided. 

That was not how Mako planned his morning. 

But hey, he wasn't complaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while to update! I'll try to post each chapter more frequently. 
> 
> Fair warning: I know absolutely nothing about fighting, sorry if I wrote anything wrong!


	3. Chapter 3

"Whoa, hold up," Mako interrupted the next evening. Korra was reading him the rest of her captivating story. "That can't be the end."

"I'm afraid so," she answered. "If you want proof, here you go." She tossed him the book, which should have been difficult in the position she was lying in on her bed. 

Sitting in her desk chair, Mako caught it in the air. He -- exaggeratedly -- flipped through the pages, looking for any sign that the written portion wasn't over yet. "Where's the rest of it?" 

That brought a short laugh out of Korra. "I'm sorry, but that's the end of the first book." She fiddled with her pen and tapped it to her chin, staring at the ceiling. "I think I finished the outline for the next one, though. There's gonna be a really awesome new character . . ." Her voice trailed off. “What do you think should happen?”

Mako was surprised by the question. She wanted his opinion. “Umm, I don’t really know. I’m not exactly a literary expert.”

“You’re helpful,” Korra said sarcastically. “No predictions? Comments? Anything?” She ducked her head to make eye-contact with him. When he looked up from the pages, he was again knocked back by her playful grin. 

“Hey, go easy on me. I’m still new at this ‘writing for fun’ thing.” Mako found it easier to smile than he thought. “What if . . . Aang learns rock bending—“

“Earth bending.”

“Right. What if he learns earth bending from a girl his age. I’m guessing they won’t make it back to Bumi for some reason, because nothing seems to go as planned for them. Is that the new character you talked about?” 

Her eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise. “I’m impressed.”

“So I’m right?”

“Actually, yeah. She’s really cool. I’m excited to write her in.”

“What’s her name?”

“Toph. You could probably figure out her personality based on that.”

“Ha.” Mako was excited, too. He never really got into reading before, but this was fun. 

“And Zuko’s sister is gonna be introduced.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, she’s . . .” Korra twiddled her thumbs. “She’s a bit . . . scary.”

“Scarier than you?”

Mako wished he didn’t say that, but Korra surprised him again with a genuine laugh. It was a good sound, full of joy, and he liked the way her nose crinkled and the sunlight from her window was highlighting her cheeks.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked when her laugh subsided. She nodded, and he scooted towards her. “Why did you tell me about your book?”

Korea chewed on her bottom lip, mulling the question over. “I don’t really know. You’re different, I guess. I know that other people judge me easily, but you didn’t seem to be like everyone else.” She tilted her head up at him. “Why do you ask?”

His heart warmed. “I don’t know. You just seemed closed off to everyone else—and I don’t blame you—but you let me in pretty quickly, I guess.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “Now, can I ask you something?”

Mako raised an eyebrow, but said, “Sure.”

“Why did you notice me?” 

He had to look at the ceiling for that one. “Umm,” How could he respond to a question he didn’t even know the answer to? “I don’t know,” he said lamely after a minute. “You were . . . Different.” He risked a glance, and she had an eyebrow raised in confusion. But, rubbing his face, he decided to change the subject. There’s no way he could figure that out today.

"Where do you get this inspiration from?" Mako questioned. "To create such complex characters, and an intricate plot, and just the world itself . . . It's all so incredible."

She still didn’t seem satisfied with his answer, but didn’t press on. Korra looked at him and smiled bashfully. Sitting up, she answered him. "I'm not really sure. I guess I just thought it'd be cool to incorporate nature into martial arts. And I love history, too." She paused for a few seconds. "Writing is just something that calls to me, you know? And . . . Can you not tell my dad please? I mean, when you meet him. About this." She pointed to her notebook. 

"Yeah, of course," he answered. "May I ask why?" 

"Well . . . My dad has a pretty good idea of what he wants me to be. He signed me up for fight classes pretty much as soon as I learned to walk, so I can follow his footsteps and join the White Lotus. He had me homeschooled up until two years ago. I guess I'm a little bitter about that, keeping me from making friends and actually having a life outside of fighting. I mean, I love him, but he doesn't understand."

"Ah." There wasn't much for Mako to say. He was, despite the circumstances, happy that she was opening up to him so much. He guessed it meant that she fully trusted him. "Is he really that bad?"

She shrugged. "Not really. But right now, he's kind of mad at me for who knows what." There was a stubborn little pouty expression on her face. 

"Well, I think you're talented enough to do whatever you please. Writing, kicking butt -- anything you set your mind to, really."

She smiled and her cheeks reddened. "You think so?"

"I know so. And don't worry about your dad, no one can control your life except you." He scooted even closer to the bed. "I'll bet that if you show him how much you care about this, and that writing is your true passion, he'll see that this is what makes you happy."

Her smile got even bigger. "Thank you, Mako." She took in a deep breath, then said, "You're . . . You're a great friend." Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him, completely shocking Mako.

She's hugging him! He thought. Her embrace was steady and warm, her strong arms squeezing tightly. Mako's heart was pounding. He hugged her back, trying to communicate that he'd always be there for her when she needed support. 

The hug ended kind of awkwardly. "Umm," Korra started, blushing. "We should probably work on the project before you have to leave."

"Oh, yeah -- right."

He pulled his book bag to him and opened a textbook, as she closed her notebook. No more procrastination for these two tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! Sorry it's been a while. I'm getting my life together, so I'll have more time to write:) Let me know what you think so far!


End file.
